In parallel to finalizing my manuscript, I decided to go ahead and start figuring out a book cover design. I found way more options and resources than expected, a range of prices going from $0 to $3500, and was almost paralyzed by choice (except I actually got really excited about having so much choice!).
That’s why I thought I would share the options I found with the pros and cons I see for each. Later, I will share an update on my process and final decision (and the end result!) – I’m not being coy, it’s just that I haven’t made my final decision yet! Told you I’d be sharing my experience step by step…
Where to go for book cover designs
Here are some options to get a book cover design:
- Go through a design platform (e.g., 99designs or miblart)
- Reach out to a known designer (e.g., someone who did the cover of a book you love)
- Connect with an author support team or platform (e.g., Reedsy, Cutting Edge Studios)
- Consider a tasking platform (e.g., Fiverr)
- Do it yourself (e.g., via Canva.com)
1. Design platforms
The two design platforms I looked into were 99designs.com and miblart.com
- 99designs.com: A platform I had heard of years ago and that was recommended to me by a fellow author who swears by it. Competitive pricing BUT you have to pay up front, and despite a clause whereby you get your money back if you’re not satisfied by the proposed designs, this approach made me uncomfortable so I didn’t pursue it and cannot further comment on the platform.
- miblart.com: Recommended to me by the editor I worked with (found on Reedsy.com). Competitive pricing, very fast customer support, and a clause whereby you only pay if you like the art and decide to use it. They also offer discounts if you use more than one service. For my debut novel, this is the option I went with.
2. Individual designers
I reached out to a few individual designers: one, I had worked on a logo with a few years back (unrelated to my writing), one was a recommended book cover designer I heard about at a writers’ conference I attended, and a third was tagged in an Instagram post by an author I follow and whose covers I love.
The advantage of this approach is that you can see portfolios and the direct connection to the designer means you don’t pay any extra fees (every platform takes a cut otherwise). On the downside, the risk is all on you.
3. Author support teams and organizations
There are a LOT of platforms, companies, teams, and even individuals whose bread and butter come from supporting authors in their journey. A one-stop-shop, in some ways, for all the services an author might need. The three examples of such entities that I reached out to included:
- Reedsy: Not sure how I found Reedsy.com but I LOVE this platform. They have a database of professionals that’s easy to navigate, and if you create a brief you can then send it to select pros for quotes. I used it to find an editor, and they also have a “Discovery” platform where authors can post advance reader copies to get reviews and connect with their audience. Note: Prices aren’t cheap, but from what I can tell you get real quality.
- Cutting Edge Studio: The recommendation came from an editor I didn’t work with but who told me to stay in touch in case they could help in any other way. I don’t love the packages this company offers, but you can also do everything custom and seem like a well-oiled machine. Prices seem competitive if a tad on the high end of average. I had a call with them to better understand how they work, and really like that they have a project manager available to help manage any services you use. I didn’t opt for this approach this time around, but suspect I’ll revisit this decision for a future project.
4. Tasking platforms
Just to be thorough, I posted a brief on Fiverr and after looking around at book cover design offers, set a budget of USD 75. I got a flurry of interest, but the level of English was poor and quite a few mentioned using artificial intelligence (AI). One designer said they could get me a sample design in a few minutes.
It made me uncomfortable to pay so little for such important work, and it’s important to me not to have to worry about miscommunication due to language, so ultimately I discontinued using this platform for this particular task.
5. Do it yourself
I love Canva.com for event flyers, holiday cards, and so much more. So, out of curiosity, I looked at book cover design templates available for free. There were some pretty decent options, so IF you want to do it yourself, you don’t actually have to start from scratch or know how to use Photoshop.
Personally, I decided I wanted to hire someone to create a cover design for me. Maybe I’ll revisit that for a subsequent book, but I do like the idea of collaborating with artists and designers and having a bit of a “team” around my debut novel launch.
Considerations for a book cover design brief
Just to get you started, here are some things to consider as you define what you want for a cover design, noting that you can either ask for just the art or – better, if you ask me – the full design which includes the cover / spine / back cover design formatted as needed to plug and play whether you’re self-publishing on Amazon, IngramSpark, or whatever other platform.
- Do research, and look at successful books in your category or genre. What do they have in common? Even if you think it’s a good idea to stand out, I have heard again and again that you should do so within the realms of what is the norm for your genre – because that’s what readers expect and respond to.
- Do you prefer an image-based book cover, or do you want original art to be your starting point? Are you open to something generated by artificial intelligence, or AI, and then tweaked by someone? These questions have implications in terms of copyright but also end result – and price.
- As an “extra”, do you want support to do the interior design and formatting for your book? Think little icons or illustrations at the start of each chapter, a larger letter (an “initial capital”) to start the chapter, etc. Often – but not always – cover designers can also do interior design IF you want it (without going into detail, there are apparently easy do-it-yourself options such as Vellum for MAC and Atticus for PC users).
Many briefs will also ask for wordcount (the number of pages affects the size of your spine and therefore spine design) and for the format/size you need for the design – which any platform you use for self-publishing will provide. I can’t say more on this yet as I haven’t crossed that bridge yet!
What next?
With that, hopefully you have a sense of where to start for your book cover design. And if along your journey, you come across other platforms or options that you think would make a great addition to this list, don’t hesitate to share them with me!
As mentioned, once I have a cover design, I’ll probably write another post on how the process went and any lessons learned.
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